1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tire vulcanizing equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional tire vulcanizing press, the working time of opening and closing a tire mold assembly to perform carrying-in of a unvulcanized tire, shaping, and unloading of a vulcanized tire is extremely short, compared with the vulcanizing time. Therefore, equipments in which the number of tire vulcanizing devices to one tire mold opening and closing device for opening and closing the tire mold assembly or tire carrying-in and carrying-out device is increased to improve the availability factors of these devices have been variously devised. In a tire vulcanizing equipment shown in FIG. 3 (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-281655 which is hereby fully incorporated by reference), particularly, vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R comprise plural sets of tire mold assemblies ML1.about.9, MR1.about.9 circularly arranged, and it is worth notice from the viewpoint of that each tire mold assembly ML1.about.9, MR1.about.9 can be carried from tire mold opening and closing stations 400L, 400R provided in the respective centers thereof to the vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R in the same condition (at the same carrying speed) and delivered from the mold opening and closing stations 400L, 400R to the vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R in a relatively short time.
In FIG. 3, the mold opening and closing stations 400L, 400R are rotated until the corresponding tire mold assemblies ML1.about.9, MR1.about.9 are opposed to mold carrying trucks 110, the corresponding tire mold assemblies M are taken from the vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R onto the mold carrying trucks 110 and carried to the centers of the opening and closing stations, wherein the tire mold assemblies M are opened and closed to carry out vulcanized tires from the tire mold assemblies, and carry unvulcanized tires into the same assemblies M, and the tire mold assemblies M are thereafter returned again to the vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R. The vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R have a plurality of radially arranged mold bases 101L, 101R, and the internal pressure supplying devices (heating and pressurizing medium supplying devices to tire internal part) 102L, 102R and external pressure supplying devices (heating medium supplying devices to tire mold circumferential part) 103L, 103R provided in the vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R are connected to the tire metal mold assemblies M to advance the vulcanization.
In this tire vulcanizing equipment, storage bases for vulcanized tires and unvulcanized tires, which are not shown in FIG. 3, are arranged on the circular second floor situated above the vulcanizing stations 100L, 100R, and the carrying-out of vulcanized tires and the carrying-in of unvulcanized tires are performed by vertically movable loaders and unloaders provided in the mold opening and closing stations 400L, 400R. A mold opening and closing station 400A provided on the outside of the circles is used for replacement of the tire metal mold assemblies M.
The tire vulcanizing equipment shown in FIG. 3, however, has problems in that the rotation of the mold opening and closing stations including opening and closing devices and carrying devices makes the devices complicated for piping and wiring distributions, a gigantic rotating device is required to rotate a heavy equipment including all of the opening and closing stations, carrying trucks, tire mold assemblies, truck rails and the like, which leads to a cost increase, and the rotation of the tall heavy equipment limits the rotating speed in order to avoid the danger of falling, vibration or the like, so that the carrying time can not be efficiently shortened.
Further, the tire vulcanizing equipment shown in FIG. 3 has another problem in that the tire mold assembly has no means of escape from the vulcanizing station to stop all the movements when one mold opening and closing station set in the center breaks down. In such a case, many tires left in the vulcanizing station can not be taken out from the molds even if the vulcanizing time expires, resulting in defective products by over-curing.
According to the tire vulcanizing equipment shown in FIG. 3, further, the same circular arrangement of supply of unvulcanized tires and carrying of vulcanized tires as the vulcanizing stations leads to the enlargement/complication of devices including a control device for tire.
Even if they are fixed to one position, the extra rotating operation of the opening and closing station is required since pickup of unvulcanized tires and carrying-out of vulcanized tires are performed in this position every time, and the problem of not only complication but also extension of the cycle time arises.